 The Walker Hang Sack Akely Boy's basketball team has been as consistent as they come, winning either 16 or 17 games each of the past three seasons. But after coming out of the gates with a 7-1 record, this might be the year that they take the next step. The Wolves are one of the more experienced teams in the area, with seven seniors on their roster, four of whom are in the starting lineup. We've been playing with each other since second grade, all the way up until now over here we have good chemistry and we can lead pretty good. They're led by a first-year head coach Darren Schultz, who was an assistant the past two years, and after some growing pains the team has hit their stride. The transition has been a little tough I think, but then we got used to it after a few games and he's a good coach, we all like him. Play a lot faster with a new coach, just try to emphasize defense more, box out, etc. Schultz says what he enjoys the most about coaching the team is being able to impact his players both on and off the court. Just being able to see our kids grow and knowing that I have a lot to do with that both as a player and as people individually out in the community, that's probably been a really rewarding time so far this year. The Wolves' strength is their size, but as teams have caught onto their post play, they say they'll need to find new ways to beat opposing defenses. We're going to have to start adjusting to what teams do to us and it's not going to be as easy just to throw it inside anymore, so we're going to have to find different ways to help our team score and in regards you're going to have a big part to do with that. Their schedule is about to ramp up in difficulty, a good test if the team wants to push past the second round of the section playoff where they've lost each of the past three years. I think we just need to stick together over the whole season and we've kind of fallen apart in the past few years I think and this team I think we can stick together and really come through and get higher than we have then. A tough week lies ahead for the Wolves visiting Nevis tomorrow before hosting undefeated cast like Bina on Thursday. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.